Bradley Wiggins most decorated British Olympic cyclist in history

HAMPTON COURT, England — It’s been the best summer of Bradley Wiggins life and this is a guy who had won six world track championships and three gold medals. Within a 10-day span he became the first Brit to win the Tour de France then the first man to win Le Tour and the Olympic road time trial championship in the same year.

Wiggins, who rode with Boulder-based Team Garmin in 2009, pulled it off Wednesday in picturesque Hampton Court. The effort makes him the most decorated Olympic cyclist in Great Britain’s history with four gold, one silver and two bronze, topping Steve Redgrave’s six.

“I guess someone will be inspired by this,” Wiggins said. “They keep banging on about legacy but it is the athletes themselves who inspire. And this is a facility that costs nothing to use. When this is over anyone can ride the circuit we rode pretending to be us. They have been riding up Box Hill since the beginning of the year. That is the thing about cycling.

“It’s accessible to anybody.”

I asked Boulder’s Taylor Phinney, who finished an agonizing fourth for the second time in five days, what makes Wiggins special. Phinney should know. He has idolized Wiggins for years and followed his path from track cycling to the road.

“Wiggins over the years has found a higher level of dedication than a lot of other athletes,” Phinney said. “Just in the past year and a half, two years he’s really sacrificed a lot when it comes to his personal life in order to be the best cyclist in the world.

“He’s gone and lived on top of a volcano for most of the year and not bringing a computer with him and not really seeing his kids. It’s a testament to what it takes to be Wiggo, to get on top of that podium.”

Wiggins credits much of his success on the road to cutting back on his partying. He admitted after Wednesday’s win that he might have a vodka tonic or two to celebrate, then go to the velodrome and watch his British teammates who are expected to dominate the track.

“You train all year for results,” he said. “You can’t train or plan for what happens in terms of all of this. I want to go back to a normal life.”